Lies

After making a very brief call to Jaz without explaining what was happening, Carson resumes his position at the table, hiding his face in his folded arms. All the work he'd done these past months... everything... all of it... it had all been for naught. It didn't matter that it had taken this long for the truth to come out - the Agency would know. They wouldn't care if it had been at the beginning, or this late in the game. The whole double charade was over and now meant nothing. He had tried so hard... so very hard... just to have it all come crashing down on him now. It made his gut twist in new was as his emotions threaten to overflow. He'd been so strong for so long... and he was so weary... 

It was rare that Carson ever let his guard down, but he was so lost in thought - so distraught - that he didn't even hear the door open. He sensed no one until he feels an arm around his shoulders. 

His head shoots up quickly and he turns, surprised to see Katie. And for a moment, his eyes lock with hers and he is silent, reading her like a book. He knew without asking that it had been her presence he had sensed behind the mirror. That look in her eye - she had heard his story... but there was more than that there. There was sorrow... pity, perhaps... understanding... compassion. And it was the compassion that drove the lump into Carson's throat. 

Looking away, he sees the food and concentrates on that for a few moments. And a silent tear rolls slowly down the side of his face. 

Reaching for the glass of water, he takes a sip a bit shakily before setting it down again. He was just so very tired. Tired of keeping up the walls. Tired of the lies. Tired of trying to handle the weight of the world on his own. He was good... but he was still just a man. And it had been way too long since he had felt someone's comforting arm around his shoulders. It wasn't like Jaz... Katie was a true friend... he couldn't push her away. 

Too weary to fight any more, Carson leans to the side, resting his head on Katie's shoulder and closing his eyes. He had been so full of lies for so long... in the beginning, he had figured that it wouldn't last too long and it would be easy to tell people that the whole thing had been fake. But now... after all this time... would it still be that easy? "Please tell me you believe me," he whispers. 

Reese purses his lips before slowly shaking his head. "I don't know," he admits. "But there are a lot of things we don't know yet. Once we have some more answers, you'll know."

He smiles and pats her shoulder, unwilling to tell her anything else. "Thanks for indulging me. I'll tell Jason he's on duty for the night." 

It wasn't but ten minutes after he leaves, that Jason shows up in the infirmary. Wandering closer to Misty, he sits on the edge of her desk and cocks his head. "So Reese just told me I'm keeping watch on you for the night...." He knew just as little as she did at this point. "How about you and I go get some coffee somewhere before going home? It's about time you quit working for the day."